Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
CTAD-CUMHURIYET TARIHI ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI, cilt.17, sa.34, ss.839-861, 2021 (ESCI)
In this article, the activities of Wilhelm Souchon, who was brought to the command of the Ottoman navy in the First World War, and the German advisors in the Ottoman navy are discussed. At the beginning of his duty, Souchon took the first step to complete the personnel deficiencies of the Ottoman navy by requesting naval officer and technical staff support from Germany. Immediately afterwards, as a result of the joint exercises of the Turkish and German crews, the Ottoman navy became ready for war in a short time. During the war, besides Ottoman navy officers and engineers, sailors active in civil maritime also attended vocational training in Germany. The reform activities carried out by the Germans in the Ottoman navy between the years 1914-1918 did not yield any results. The German advisers, who were assigned to reform the navy organizational structure, faced the difficulties of the war conditions and the negative approach of some Turkish officers in the Ottoman navy towards the reforms. Ottoman statesmen saw Germany as the only country to apply for the purchase of new warships for the navy fleet. Long negotiations were held for the purchase of warships and submarines from Germany to the Ottoman navy for 3 years. Finally, on September 17, 1917, an agreement was signed, which included the purchase of torpedo boats and submarines from Germany. Although military privileges such as the permanent allocation of a port from the Ottoman Empire for the ships of the German navy were on the agenda in the talks between diplomats from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and members of the navy in Berlin, they were not included in the agreement. As a result, the agreement, which included the purchase of warships and submarines from Germany, lost its validity after the Ottoman Empire and its ally were defeated in the World War I.